Metal fatigue analytics and alert systems

ABSTRACT

The disclosure is directed to metal fatigue analytics and alert systems. A system in accordance with an embodiment includes: a first database on a vehicle, the database storing a list of at least one metal part in the vehicle and corresponding metal batch information for each metal part in the list; a second database on a server remote from the first database, the second database storing metal batch information for at least one batch of metal from which faulty metal parts have been constructed; a comparing system for comparing the metal batch information stored in the first database with the metal batch information stored in the second database; and a messaging system for generating a failure alert message when the comparing system finds a match between the metal batch information stored in the first database and the metal batch information stored in the second database.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation application of U.S. Pat. No.9,260,200, which was filed on Nov. 7, 2014, and which is herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to metal parts, and moreparticularly, to metal fatigue analytics and alert systems.

RELATED ART

The detection of metal fatigue in a vehicle such as an aircraft is apainstakingly difficult activity. Metal fatigue occurs when a materialis subjected to repeated loading and unloading. If the loads are above acertain threshold, microscopic cracks will begin to form at the stressconcentrators such as the surface, persistent slip bands (PSBs), andgrain interfaces. Eventually a crack will reach a critical size, thecrack will propagate suddenly, and the structure will fracture.

The failure to detect the effect of metal fatigue in aircraft may leadto tragedy and loss. This problem is seen throughout the aviationindustry, from defense to civil aviation, and is also present in otherindustries that rely on dependable metals as a raw material.

One current solution to the problem has been to regularly and carefullyperform an ‘eyeball’ check on all aircraft for signs of metal fatigue,such as small cracks and signs of unnatural wear. If a metal part on anaircraft shows signs of fatigue, the batch of metal used in themanufacture of the faulty part and the identity of other aircraft thathave parts made from the same batch of metal are determined, ifpossible. Then, again if possible, the owners/operators of theidentified aircraft are contacted and, if necessary, the identifiedaircraft are recalled for a safety check. Typically, any parts made fromthe same batch of metal are replaced.

Unfortunately, this is a time consuming, resource hungry, inefficient,and error-prone process. Further, given the long lives of aircraft andthe fact they change owners frequently, it can be exceedingly difficultto trace the relevant aircraft and link them with the batch numbers.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the invention provides a system, comprising: a firstdatabase on a vehicle, the first database storing a list of at least onemetal part in the vehicle and corresponding metal batch information foreach metal part in the list; a second database on a server remote fromthe first database, the second database storing metal batch informationfor at least one batch of metal from which faulty metal parts have beenconstructed; a comparing system for comparing the metal batchinformation stored in the first database with the metal batchinformation stored in the second database; and a messaging system forgenerating a failure alert message when the comparing system finds amatch between the metal batch information stored in the first databaseand the metal batch information stored in the second database.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method, comprising: storing,in a first database on a vehicle, a list of at least one metal part inthe vehicle and corresponding metal batch information for each metalpart in the list; storing, in a second database on a server remote fromthe first database, metal batch information for at least one batch ofmetal from which faulty metal parts have been constructed; comparing themetal batch information stored in the first database with the metalbatch information stored in the second database; and generating, by amessaging system, a failure alert message when the comparing systemfinds a match between the metal batch information stored in the firstdatabase and the metal batch information stored in the second database.

A third aspect of the invention provides a computer program productcomprising program code embodied in at least one computer-readablestorage medium, which when executed, enables a computer system toimplement a method, the method comprising: storing, in a first databaseon a vehicle, a list of at least one metal part in the vehicle andcorresponding metal batch information for each metal part in the list;storing, in a second database on a server remote from the firstdatabase, metal batch information for at least one batch of metal fromwhich faulty metal parts have been constructed; comparing the metalbatch information stored in the first database with the metal batchinformation stored in the second database; and generating, by amessaging system, a failure alert message when the comparing systemfinds a match between the metal batch information stored in the firstdatabase and the metal batch information stored in the second database.

Other aspects of the invention provide methods, systems, programproducts, and methods of using and generating each, which include and/orimplement some or all of the actions described herein. The illustrativeaspects of the invention are designed to solve one or more of theproblems herein described and/or one or more other problems notdiscussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the disclosure will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings that depict various aspects of the invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a metal fatigue analytics and alert system, according toembodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts a database including a list of all metal parts in anaircraft, as well as metal batch information for each of the metal partsin the aircraft, according to embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a metal fatigue analyticsand alert process, according to embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative computing environment, according toembodiments.

It is noted that the drawings may not be to scale. The drawings areintended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and thereforeshould not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In thedrawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to metal parts, and moreparticularly, to metal fatigue analytics and alert systems.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, as depicted forexample in FIG. 1, a device 10 is installed on a vehicle 12 such as anaircraft. A plurality of vehicles 12 can be provided with the device 10.The device 10 includes a messaging system 14, a metal part database 16,and a comparing system 17. The messaging system 14 may communicate, forexample, using a Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol orany other suitable communication methodology. MQTT is a client/serverpublish/subscribe messaging protocol, designed for constrained devicesand low-bandwidth, high-latency, or unreliable networks. In anembodiment, the device 10 is completely separate from all other systemsof a vehicle 12 to allow existing vehicles 12 to be easily retrofittedto include the device 10.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the database 16 comprises a list 18 of all ofmetal parts 20 used in the construction of the vehicle 12, as well as alist 22 of metal batch information 24 for each of the metal parts 20.The metal batch information 22 for each metal part 20 may includeinformation such as the batch number of the metal part 20, manufacturerof the metal part 20, location of manufacture of the metal part 20,metal composition of the metal part 20, specification (e.g., size,weight, etc.) of the metal part 20, condition (e.g., new, used, etc.) ofthe metal part 20, maintenance records of the metal part 20, and/or thelike. The metal parts 20 in the list 18 may be identified by name, partnumber, and/or the like.

As depicted in FIG. 1, a “hot list” database 30, a predictive analyticssystem 32, and an alert system 38 are provided on a server system 34. Inan embodiment, the server system 34 may comprise, for example, a cloudbased server system, such as IBM Cloud. Other types of server systems(e.g., non-cloud, hybrid cloud, etc.) may also be used in the practiceof the present invention.

The hot list database 30 stores metal batch information 36 associatedwith batches of metal from which faulty metal parts (e.g., metal partsthat have shown signs of metal fatigue) have been constructed. Suchbatches of metal are referenced below as ‘failed metal batches’. Themetal batch information 36 may include, for example, the batch numbersof failed metal batches, manufactures of failed metal batches, locationof manufacture of failed metal batches, and/or the like. The metal batchinformation 36 may also include information identifying known vehicles12 having metal parts formed from failed metal batches.

The hot list database 30 may be updated to include new metal batchinformation 36 associated with failed metal batches. For example, if ametal part on a vehicle 12 is determined or suspected to be sufferingfrom metal fatigue (e.g., discovered during routine maintenance, duringan inspection, during actual use of the vehicle 12, etc.), new metalbatch information 36 identifying the failed metal batch from which themetal part was manufactured may be added to the hot list database 30.The new metal batch information 36 may be stored in the hot listdatabase 30 as soon as it is available to provide real-time updating ofthe hot list database 30. Periodic (e.g., once an hour, daily, etc.)updating of the hot list database 30 may also be performed.

The messaging system 14 is configured to automatically poll 40 the hotlist database 30 on the server system 34 to obtain the metal batchinformation 36 in the hot list database 30, which is associated withknown failed metal batches. The comparing system 17 compares theobtained metal batch information 36 with the metal batch information 22stored in the database 16 for each metal part on the vehicle 12. Thepolling 40 may be performed continuously or on a predetermined schedule.

If a match is found via the comparing system 17, thereby indicating thata metal part on the vehicle 12 was formed from a failed metal batch, themessaging system 14 generates and transmits a failure alert message 42to the server system 34. The messaging system may also transmit thefailure alert message 42 directly to the operators of the vehicle 12.

On receipt of a fatigue alert message 42, the alert system 38 notifies44 a set (one or more) of responsible parties 46 that a potential metalfatigue issue may be present in the vehicle 12. The responsible parties46 may include, for example, the operators (e.g., pilots), owners,manufacturer(s), and maintenance crews of the vehicle 12. Thenotification 44 may include, for example, the identity of the vehicle12, and a list of all metal parts used in the construction of thevehicle 12 that were formed from the failed metal batch. This allows fora preemptive inspection and/or replacement of the metal parts on thevehicle 12 that may be susceptible to metal fatigue. In addition, thenotification 44 may be sent to responsible parties associated with othervehicles 12 that may include the same suspect metal part(s). Theauthorities responsible for vehicle safety (e.g., the FAA and NTSB inthe case of an aircraft) may also be notified of a potential metalfatigue issue with one or more metal parts in the vehicle 12.

According to embodiments, as soon as a metal failure problem isdiscovered and associated with a failed batch of metal, all otherpotentially affected vehicles 12 (and potentially failure prone metalparts) can be identified and subsequently inspected. This preventativeprocess is proactive and does not rely on a visible identification of acrack, tear, or other metal fatigue damage in a vehicle 12. Affectedvehicles 12 can be identified and traced immediately, rather thanthrough a painstaking search. Human error is reduced as eyeballinspections are no longer the primary method to check for metal fatigueof parts in a vehicle 12.

A predictive analytics system 32, such as Smart Cloud PredictiveInsights available from IBM, may be used to determine patterns in thesources of batches of metals and associated metal fatigue. This would,for example, allow the operators of an existing vehicle 12 to be awareif the components of their vehicle 12 came from batches of metalmanufactured at plants that had a higher than average risk of metalfatigue. These vehicles could then be subjected to additional scrutinyin determining if their metal parts show signs of metal fatigue.

The predictive analytics system 32 may determine patterns in the metalbatch information 36 indicating that certain manufactures producebatches of metal that are more prone to metal fatigue than othermanufactures or that may not age particularly well. This allows certainmetal parts to be highlighted, as a preventative measure, as possiblybeing more prone to metal fatigue, based on factors such as age,manufacture, location of manufacture, and/or the like. Additionalattention, for example, in the form of more frequent inspections or morefrequent replacement, may be paid to such metal parts.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative flow diagram of a metal fatigue analyticsand alert process, according to embodiments. At S1, a list of all of themetal parts used in the construction of a vehicle and correspondingmetal batch information for each of the metal parts is generated. At S2,this data is stored in a database on the vehicle. At S3, a hot listdatabase is populated on a cloud based server system with metal batchinformation associated with batches of metal from which faulty metalparts have been constructed. At S4, the hot list database is updatedwith new metal batch information corresponding to newly identifiedfailed metal batches.

At S5, a messaging system on the vehicle continuously polls the hot listdatabase to obtain the metal batch information in the hot list databaseassociated with known failed metal batches. At S6, the comparing systemcompares the obtained metal batch information with the metal batchinformation for each metal part on the vehicle.

If a match is not found (No, S7), flow passes back to S5. If a match isfound (Yes, S7) via the comparing system at S6, thereby indicating thata metal part on the vehicle was formed from a failed metal batch, themessaging system generates and transmits a failure alert message to theserver system at S8. The messaging system may also transmit the failurealert message directly to the operators of the vehicle.

On receipt of a fatigue alert message, the alert system notifies a setof responsible parties at S9 that a potential metal fatigue issue may bepresent in the vehicle. Flow then passes back to S5.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

While it is understood that the program product of the present inventionmay be manually loaded directly in a computer system via a storagemedium such as a CD, DVD, etc., the program product may also beautomatically or semi-automatically deployed into a computer system bysending the program product to a central server or a group of centralservers. The program product may then be downloaded into clientcomputers that will execute the program product. Alternatively theprogram product may be sent directly to a client system via e-mail. Theprogram product may then either be detached to a directory or loadedinto a directory by a button on the e-mail that executes a program thatdetaches the program product into a directory. Another alternative is tosend the program product directly to a directory on a client computerhard drive.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative computing system 100 for implementing thepresent invention, according to embodiments. The computing system 10 maycomprise any type of computing device and, and for example includes atleast one processor, memory, an input/output (I/O) (e.g., one or moreI/O interfaces and/or devices), and a communications pathway. Ingeneral, processor(s) execute program code for implementing one or moresystems/functions of the present invention, which is at least partiallyfixed in memory. While executing program code, processor(s) can processdata, which can result in reading and/or writing transformed datafrom/to memory and/or I/O for further processing. The pathway provides acommunications link between each of the components in computing system100. I/O can comprise one or more human I/O devices, which enable a userto interact with computing system 100.

The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations arepossible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to anindividual skilled in the art are included within the scope of theinvention as defined by the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a first database on avehicle, the first database storing a list of at least one metal part inthe vehicle and corresponding metal batch information for each metalpart in the list; a second database on a server remote from the firstdatabase, the second database storing metal batch information for atleast one batch of metal from which faulty metal parts have beenconstructed; a comparing system for comparing the metal batchinformation stored in the first database with the metal batchinformation stored in the second database; and a messaging system forgenerating a failure alert message when the comparing system finds amatch between the metal batch information stored in the first databaseand the metal batch information stored in the second database.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises an aircraft.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the faulty metal parts comprise metal partssuffering from metal fatigue.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theserver comprises a cloud-based server.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: an alert system for notifying, in response to receipt of thefailure alert message, a set of parties that a potential metal fatigueissue may be present in the vehicle.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe comparing system compares the metal batch information stored in thefirst database with the metal batch information stored in the seconddatabase continuously or on a predetermined schedule.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the second database is updated in real time to includenew metal batch information for at least one batch of metal from whichfaulty metal parts have been constructed.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the messaging system transmits the failure alert messagedirectly to an operator of the vehicle.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the metal batch information stored in the first databasecomprises, for each metal part, a batch number of the metal part, amanufacturer of the metal part, and a location of manufacture of themetal part, and wherein the metal batch information stored in the seconddatabase comprises, for each faulty metal part, a batch number of thefaulty metal part, a manufacturer of the faulty metal part, and alocation of manufacture of the faulty metal part.
 10. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising: a predictive analytics system for:determining patterns in the metal batch information stored in the seconddatabase; and preemptively identifying metal parts as being susceptibleto metal fatigue based on the patterns.
 11. A method, comprising:storing, in a first database on a vehicle, a list of at least one metalpart in the vehicle and corresponding metal batch information for eachmetal part in the list; storing, in a second database on a server remotefrom the first database, metal batch information for at least one batchof metal from which faulty metal parts have been constructed; comparingthe metal batch information stored in the first database with the metalbatch information stored in the second database; and generating, by amessaging system, a failure alert message when the comparing systemfinds a match between the metal batch information stored in the firstdatabase and the metal batch information stored in the second database.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the vehicle comprises an aircraft.13. The method of claim 11, wherein the faulty metal parts comprisemetal parts suffering from metal fatigue.
 14. The method of claim 11,further comprising: notifying, in response to receipt of the failurealert message, a set of parties that a potential metal fatigue issue maybe present in the vehicle.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein thecomparing system compares the metal batch information stored in thefirst database with the metal batch information stored in the seconddatabase continuously or on a predetermined schedule.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the second database is updated in real time to includenew metal batch information for at least one batch of metal from whichfaulty metal parts have been constructed.
 17. The method of claim 11,wherein the messaging system transmits the failure alert messagedirectly to an operator of the vehicle.
 18. The method of claim 11,wherein the metal batch information stored in the first databasecomprises, for each metal part, a batch number of the metal part, amanufacturer of the metal part, and a location of manufacture of themetal part, and wherein the metal batch information stored in the seconddatabase comprises, for each faulty metal part, a batch number of thefaulty metal part, a manufacturer of the faulty metal part, and alocation of manufacture of the faulty metal part.
 19. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: a predictive analytics system for:determining patterns in the metal batch information stored in the seconddatabase; and preemptively identifying metal parts as being susceptibleto metal fatigue based on the patterns.
 20. A computer program productcomprising program code embodied in at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, which when executed, enables acomputer system to implement a method, the method comprising: storing,in a first database on a vehicle, a list of at least one metal part inthe vehicle and corresponding metal batch information for each metalpart in the list; storing, in a second database on a server remote fromthe first database, metal batch information for at least one batch ofmetal from which faulty metal parts have been constructed; comparing themetal batch information stored in the first database with the metalbatch information stored in the second database; and generating, by amessaging system, a failure alert message when the comparing systemfinds a match between the metal batch information stored in the firstdatabase and the metal batch information stored in the second database.